


you make my heart flutter (is this love?)

by timelinecafe



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Fluff, M/M, Mage!Jisung, Mentioned Bang Chan, Mentioned Seo Changbin, Oblivious Seungmin, apprentice(?)!felix, baker! and artist!jeongin, hyunjin's also a social media influencer, mage!hyunjin, mage!seungmin, minho i'm sorry, seungmin's like his tutor, unbetaed i'm sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:02:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22676047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timelinecafe/pseuds/timelinecafe
Summary: seungmin:hey, remember when i joked about onlyknowing that hyunjin had moved hereif he showed up at one of our doorstepsguess whatjeongin:N O
Relationships: Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin
Comments: 23
Kudos: 181





	1. one

**Author's Note:**

> hi !! i've been itching to write something a little shorter, so, here this is !! i hope you enjoy it and i'll try to update soon !!
> 
> just a note; the italics do indicate the character's-mostly seungmin's-thoughts

Feet crunched into orange and brown leaves as another sharp gust of wind carried more towards the bricked walkway, filling what little gaps remained. The sky covered by a layer of harsh grey clouds, threatening rain. It was far too cold and miserable to be outside, but the promise of coffee and freshly baked pastries was enough to keep anyone going. Leaves were crushed beneath black boots and another gust of wind encouraged the belt around a beige trench coat to be pulled into a tighter knot. Seungmin exhaled and a puff of warm air drifted away with the wind, he pulled a mask over his nose and adjusted his scarf; being awake at the ungodly hour that is six am left very little to be desired. He hoped that whatever Jeongin had to say to him was as important as the precious sleep he was currently missing.

He turned a corner onto the street that housed the bakery Jeongin’s family owned. Signage as brightly lit and vivid as ever, the bakery’s distinctive neon display illuminated the concrete in front with a soft aqua glow. Other shops were still covered by their barred security and the streets housed silence apart from Seungmin. He stepped beneath the light; the curtains were yet to be drawn and the sign that hung still read ‘Closed’, but he knew better than to think the family wasn’t awake. His face pressed against the door he peered inside.

Inside pure chaos ensued; various tables were being lifted and carried into position by Jeongin’s father, his older brother followed behind with four chairs stacked in his arms. He, his mother, and younger brother worked behind the counter, they kneaded dough and carried trays of freshly baked goods to display. Seungmin tried the door, a bell rang above his head, and a wave of warmth engulfed him. “Hello,” he bowed, everyone froze and stared at him. It took a moment of silence before recognition settled in and the family greeted him in unison, “I’m not going to be interrupting anything, Jeongin?” he inquired, “You seem so busy setting up, what’s more important than this?”

“Seungmin! You came! Hold on, I just have to finish with this loaf and I’ll be free to join you—go up, make yourself comfortable,” Jeongin exclaimed. Seungmin raised his eyebrows— _if you say so_ —Jeongin’s younger brother held open the gate that blocked off the kitchen.

“Sorry, hyung’s been rambling about needing to tell you something since last night—I’m impressed he’s held it in so long,”

“He could’ve just told me over the phone,”

“No, I couldn’t have! You’ll understand when I tell you!” Seungmin glanced at Jeongin’s brother and the two shrugged; he stepped behind the counter and through the door that lead to the stairs that would take him to the home above. The same home he’s visited since the two first met at the bright age of five when they peered over the counter and stared at each other with blank expressions thinking; _yeah, this one gets it, people suck_. Their mothers had been friends in high school that lost touch after Seungmin’s mother moved away for college; after reconnecting it was only natural that their sons, only five months apart, became friends. Seungmin could walk through the house with his eyes closed and he’d only bump into that new cabinet in the living room—yes, that comes from experience.

He laid down on Jeongin’s bed and stared at the ceiling, he fought to keep his eyes open in the darkened room. As the urge became harder to fight he pulled his scarf over his eyes and allowed his consciousness to be taken, even if only for a few minutes.

* * *

Bright light forced his eyes open alongside the sound of curtains being raked open. “Dude. Stop sleeping every time I tell you to wait for me,” Jeongin shook his head, “come on, sit up.” Seungmin pulled his body up, Jeongin adjusted the pillows behind him and leant him back against them. Seungmin glanced expectantly at his friend, hands held out. “Okay, old man, here’s your coffee—just as dark as your internal being—and your favourite strawberry pastry. Mum worked on this all morning, just for you.”

“I know she didn’t and since when was I old?”

“Every time I see you you’re either tired or sleeping, therefore, you are old.”

“Doesn’t mean I’m old. What’s up? What’s got you so worked up that you’re sacrificing my sleep to tell me in person?” Jeongin seated himself at the end of his bed, a grin stretched across his face.

“It’s about Hwang Hyunjin.” Ah, of course it’s about Hyunjin. There were very few days that went by without Seungmin hearing about Hyunjin—and with fair reason. Anyone in the local area with a heartbeat knew Hyunjin; who first gained attention as a young scholar and mage, the few of his kind to attend the Lyceum at such a young age instead of an Academy like everyone else. Hyunjin took it upon himself to become an influencer, creating several social media accounts to impart a fraction of his knowledge to everyone else. He gained mass following overnight, though that was in part to people finally being able to see his face; even Seungmin would admit that he found it very difficult to not find Hyunjin even remotely heart-fluttering. Hyunjin always had a way of explaining things so clearly with a soft voice and patience, his eyes sparked with passion, and those little grins that form when he spaces out or stops to read comments in a live broadcast.

“What about him?” If Jeongin’s smile could stretch wider, it would, his eyes sparkled like the night sky. Seungmin stared back, frozen mid-bite as he expected Jeongin to continue. When he got no answer, he rolled his eyes and finished the mouthful of pastry before he pressed further, “Will I get an answer some time this morning? What about Hyunjin has you so worked up?”

“You can’t guess?”  
  


“You want me to guess?”

“Hmm… no, I’ll just tell you,” _thank goodness_ , “a while back I saw someone on Twitter say Hyunjin’s moved. Apparently their aunt was his neighbour or something, I think they’re lying about that… anyway, you following? That rumour came out months ago, but I’m saying that it might actually be true.” Seungmin leaned forward and studied Jeongin’s expression; it remained unchanged from seconds ago and if he squinted he saw the slightest instance of colour rising in Jeongin’s ears, a clear sign of excitement.

“You think he’s moved here?”

“I can almost be certain that I know. Hyunjin’s notorious for disguises and I think, I may have potentially met him yesterday, in disguise of course,”

“You, Yang Jeongin, managed to hold in that you _potentially_ met Hyunjin himself for hours instead of immediately yelling at me about it down the phone? You woke me up at six in the goddamn morning,” a long sigh escaped Seungmin. “And you’re sure of this, why?”

“Based on what your genius has taught me—”

“Flattery won’t get you far, kid,” Seungmin interrupted,

“You can’t call me kid if I can’t—anyway—you’ve taught me that when using illusion-based magic to alter one’s appearance, it’s not foolproof and that not one, but several distinct features remain. Correct?”

“Yeah, but Hyunjin’s a very skilled mage—it’s possible he has the capability to alter his entire appearance without any sign of his actual self.”

“Don’t bring me down just yet, alright? First of all this individual ordered one of mum’s peach tarts, and I’ve told you about how he said he loves those, right?”

“I have been informed, still doesn’t mean it’s him though.”

“I figured as much, so, I have something else for you. In an attempt to be not creepy—I tried to do a quick sketch while he was here,” Jeongin stumbled off his bed and retrieved a worn sketchbook from his desk.

“In an attempt to not be creepy you, you drew him?”

“Well, did you want me to photograph him? I draw our customers all the time, and it’s not creepy if I have consent,”

“As long as you asked.” Once he found the right page his shoved it in front of Seungmin, “Tell me it doesn’t kinda look like him?” Seungmin squinted at the drawing, looking for anything that might indicate that, yes, this is Hwang Hyunjin. The male in the drawing held a cup just under his chin, both elbows rested on the table in front of him; he definitely appeared to have Hyunjin’s lanky stature and fashion sense. In the corner of the page Jeongin had sketched a larger drawing of his face; glasses perched on his nose, floppy black hair, and a mole under one eye. Though most features weren’t close to Hyunjin’s, a few matched.

“I suppose,” he hummed, “it’s possible, but it’s still hard to be sure.” Jeongin pouted, the bed dipped under his weight as he flopped next to Seungmin. Seungmin muttered a small incantation to stop his coffee spilling.

“How?”

“We won’t know its him for sure unless he shows up on one of our doorsteps, not in disguise,”

“He wouldn’t do that; we could just wait until he posts something that confirms it,”

“You’ll be waiting for it not me,” Seungmin pointed out, the two sat in silence while Seungmin finished his breakfast. “Can I sleep now?”

“If you must, I’ll go back down and help mum again—I’ll wake you up when it’s lunch time,”

“Thanks.”

* * *

Stupid. Absolutely stupid.

Seungmin couldn’t think of a better descriptor for his new predicament.

Felix had knocked on his bedroom door just moments prior to inform him someone had arrived at their apartment specifically requesting his presence. “I… I think you’ll want to come see them, it’d be rude of you not to,” he voice a little shaky,

“Are they scary? You seem nervous, do I need to kick their ass?”

“No, it’s… go see for yourself.” Seungmin closed the book in front of him and stepped out into the hallway, “Hold on, you might want to do something about your hair,” Felix stopped him and quickly fixed some loose strands.

“So they’re important,” Seungmin muttered, “and Felix is scared of them.”

“I’m not!” Felix hissed, by the time Seungmin turned around to reply Felix had darted behind the kitchen door. He flashed Seungmin a grin and gave him a thumbs before he disappeared from view.

“Sure.” Seungmin rolled his eyes, he reached their front door and placed a hand on the doorknob, “Who is it?”

“Hwang Hyunjin, is this Kim Seungmin?” Seungmin snorted and doubled over into a fit of giggles, the individual on the other side of the door remained silent until Seungmin had calmed down and sat with his back rested against the door to regain his breath. “It may seem ridiculous, but I am Hyunjin. Not some poser who happens to be an incredibly good voice impersonator. I’d like to speak to you, Seungmin.”

They made a very good point. No one would be able to match the gentle timbre Hyunjin’s voice possesses, not even a professional could muster up the voice that sent an electric shock down his spine and spear through his chest for good measure. Seungmin picked himself up from the floor and opened the door enough to poke his head out. The individual smiled and adjusted their posture, it certainly seemed to be Hyunjin; lanky figure, floppy black hair, and when Seungmin leaned closer he could see the mole under his eye. Hyunjin looked… completely normal. More than usual, to be exact, Hyunjin definitely dressed up for his videos; the dirty sneakers, jacket tied loosely around him waist, and the bandana tied around his forehead said as much.

_Obviously, Seungmin. Hyunjin’s human, too._

Seungmin narrowed his eyes, the doubtful part of him took control; a ring of soft red light encircled supposed Hyunjin and disappeared into his figure. No immediate change to his appearance or signs of evil presence followed and fear set in, “Are you done analysing me? Have I passed the test?” Seungmin opened his mouth the reply, however, his words caught in his throat.

“Just a moment,” he whispered, darting back inside. He collapsed against the door and pulled out his phone to message Jeongin.

**_seungmin_ **

hey, remember when i joked about only

knowing that hyunjin had moved here

if he showed up at one of our doors

guess what

**_jeongin_ **

N O

**_seungmin_ **

y e s

**_jeongin_ **

CDJSNKSWHAT THE HECK

i’m: goingto lose it

why does he know where you live ??

why is he there ??

is felix okay ???

**_seungmin_ **

i cant answer any of those questions

he’s still outside i told him to wait a

moment

**_jeongin_ **

YOURE MAKING HYUNJIN

WAIT ????

DUD E LET HIM IN

DON’T MAKE HIM WAIT

**_seungmin_ **

okay i’ll update you later

**_jeongin_ **

dude GO

Seungmin pocketed his phone and reopened the door, fully. “Sorry for the wait, I had a few things I had to take care of first,”

“You didn’t go anywhere,” Hyunjin said, Seungmin inhaled and grimaced, _well_.

“You got me there,” he mumbled. “please, come inside, leave your shoes there. Would you like anything to drink? I have just about everything,”

“Water’s fine,”

“Lix! Can you get us some water?” he called, “Where do you want to sit? Is the living room fine? Yeah? Okay, please, sit wherever you like.” Hyunjin sat down on the single seater, the plush cushion sunk gently under his weight; it was the one remotely luxury item in the apartment after all. If Felix was going to spend hours sat in front of the television gaming, he better at least be comfortable. Seungmin sat on the sofa as far from Hyunjin as he could, his back pressed into the armrest. Felix emerged with two glasses of water, he bowed to Hyunjin as he set his down on the table.

“Thank you,”

“I’ll be in my room studying, if you need me,”

“Thanks, have a go at the homework Miss Choi set, it’s everything she explained in the lecture—grab my notes if you get stuck, they’re in my bag.” Felix nodded, glanced at Hyunjin again, and scurried away. The two sat draped in an uncomfortable silence punctured by the low hum of the fridge, Seungmin clung onto his glass in a poor attempt to prevent his hands from shaking, “So?”

“Right,” Hyunjin leant back in the chair, crossing one leg over the other, “sorry for coming here unannounced, but I need your help.” Seungmin coughed and spluttered, his existence essentially glitched before he regained his senses and downed his water.

“What?” he wheezed, still coughing,

“I need your help,” Hyunjin repeated. “Okay, you see, the only connection I have in this town is a friend of mine you may or may not know, Seo Changbin.”

“Yeah, I know him, used to be in the science club together,”

“Of course, that nerd,” _hey, hold on_ , but as if Hyunjin read his mind; he smiled and added, “don’t worry, that doesn’t apply to you. I’ve heard about your work, so I asked Changbin if you were still in the area. He said you probably were so long as you were still living in this ‘dingy old apartment’—his words not mine.”

“So, you have moved here and wanted to scope out the skilled mages, for reference I assume?”

“Mage. Just you. But yeah, my apartment’s actually only a few floors down.” Seungmin coughed again, Hyunjin furrowed his eyebrows and poured some of his water into Seungmin’s glass. “Here,”

“Thank you,” Seungmin gasped, “you’ve gotta stop dropping things on me like that.”

“I’ve only done it twice,” Hyunjin blinked, his eyes widened and became owlish and his bottom lip jutted further out. The face of Innocence: Hwang Hyunjin, coming to a news agent near you. Seungmin’s heart stuttered in his chest, it wouldn’t surprise him if Hyunjin could hear it, his ears pounded.

“Thrice, actually, I’d count showing up at my door as one,”

“Okay, three times. But really, Seungmin, I’d like your help,”

“With what exactly?”

“A few things,” Hyunjin held three fingers up, “I’ve seen your Instagram and I’d gladly fight someone for a component collection like yours, there’s things I’d love to borrow for work purposes. You also make potions? I’d love it if you could teach me. I also wondered if you’d help me with my next video series, your majoring in Planar Research, correct? I know nothing past the basics.”

By the time Hyunjin had finished listing everything, Seungmin froze in position. _This can’t be happening._ He honestly couldn’t be sure if he’d even breathed since Hyunjin arrived, now he was certain the air had frozen in his lungs. No matter the warmth of the room his hands shook, and when he did decide to breathe again the air wobbled as if left his mouth. “I know I’m asking a lot at once. Do you need more water? The kitchen’s just there, yes?”

“Yeah, that’d be great thanks,” he said. His shoulders relaxed once Hyunjin left, he brought his knees up to his chest and linked his arms around them. “What just happened?” he mumbled and shook his head, “Let’s go over this again; Hyunjin wants to borrow my components, which I _suppose_ I can allow because it’s him. He wants to learn how to make potions, I don’t know how my heart will fair, but it’s doable as soon as I stop acting like a lovestruck idiot. He also wants help with a video series? The information I presume, I guess not many people choose the major I did.” He continued mumbling to himself, he ignored how long Hyunjin had been gone retrieving water; not realising Hyunjin had leant against the doorframe for the past minute with an absentminded smile perched on his face.

“Seungmin?” he called softly, “I hope this is enough water for you.” He handed over the glass, Seungmin wondered if he was trying to put a galaxy out of business with the way his eyes sparked and glimmered.

“Thank you,” he said, “I thought about what you said.”

“Yeah?” Hyunjin sat down, this time at the other end of the couch.

“I’ll do it.” Hyunjin’s face lit up and _okay now the sun’s about to lose its job, too_. Hyunjin clapped excitedly, his energy radiated warmth. It’s then that Seungmin’s mouth betrays him, “I’m starting to think you moved here for me,” he clamped a hand over his mouth and inhaled sharply. The suspicion crept into his mind earlier in their conversation when Hyunjin mentioned he singled Seungmin out when he moved, but he brushed it away because _that’s just impossible_. His endless bundle of nerves must’ve brought the thought back and spat it out. Hyunjin paused and caught his bottom lip between his teeth, a grin threatened to form as the corners of his mouth twitched.

“Ah. I’ve been caught. Did Changbin tell you?”

“No, I haven’t spoken to him since—wait, you actually moved here because of me?” Seungmin squeaked, he crawled onto the armrest instinctually. Hyunjin chuckled,

“You were a factor, I’ll admit. I mostly just wanted to get away from Cheongdam, too many people knew where I lived—I’ll have to try and be sneakier this time,” _you’re also very cute_.

“Understandable.”

Hyunjin began to engage Seungmin in a more technical discussion about the specifics of what he’s after and what times they’ll be able to meet up. Felix came out once to ask if either of them wanted lunch whilst he held up a menu for a fried chicken restaurant. Hyunjin insisted he pay as an apology for showing up so suddenly, which took until the delivery man arrived at the door to convince Seungmin it was fine and he shouldn’t feel like he owed Hyunjin anything in return. “What you’re doing for me is more than enough, if anything I’m the one who owes you.” As they spoke longer most of the initial nerves subsided and it wasn’t until Hyunjin stood up to leave that Seungmin was reminded of exactly who he spent the past two hours talking to.

“Thank you for taking the time to speak to me, Seungmin, I’m very appreciative. I’ll see you on Tuesday! Oh, it’ll be like a date!”

“A wha—yeah! See you then!”

**_seungmin_ **

jeongin please help me i cant breathe


	2. two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so apparently seungmin's still in denial so there will be another chapter soon, but for now i hope you enjoy this one !

Realisation struck at three o’clock in the morning, Seungmin hadn’t slept and it wasn’t until his phone lit up with a notification that ‘Tuesday’ burned into his mind. The day Seungmin marked in his calendar as the day his soul ascends. It was a sheer miracle that he even went to bed at that point, but he wasn’t about to let his sleep-deprived self embarrass his meagre existence. 

He stood in the centre of his room; showered, dressed, not ready for the day ahead, contemplating what he should do next. They agreed to Hyunjin arriving at eleven am—it’s fifteen past ten—hunger lingered in his stomach, the thought of burning his tongue with coffee crossed his mind but he immediately scratched it. He’d already be in enough pain simply being within metre of Hyunjin’s existence and coffee won’t satisfy his stomach. 

Felix knocked on the open door to get his attention, a bowl in one hand. “Breakfast, I figured you wouldn’t get it yourself,”

“Thanks. Is there some way you can get me sick? Like… did you secretly put a laxative in here or—” Seungmin grumbled, shovelling cereal into his mouth. Felix shook his head,

“Nope.”

“Damn, that’s a shame,”

“You’re acting like you’re not excited.” Seungmin glared at him, “Hey, I’m not the one who opened their bedroom window to scream five minutes after he left.”

_Oh yeah_ , he did do that, and no doubt Hyunjin heard. 

In his defence, his head needed clearing and he wasn’t expecting the street to be so busy. He had opened his bedroom window and screamed before he even thought about the possibility of others hearing him, and apparently even from the fifteenth floor he could still be heard loud and clear. Security even knocked on the door to make sure nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. 

“Shut up,”

“Really though, you’ll be fine,” Felix assured, patting his back,

“Will I? Will I really?”

“No.” _Thank you, your words have given me so much strength_. “Want me to fix your hair before you leave?” Seungmin pinched a tuft of damp hair, 

“Yeah, that’d be great,” he ran a hand through his hair, drying most of it. Felix reached over, hand kept at a distance, a soft yellow glow radiated beneath his fingertips. “Missed a spot?” 

“Yeah. You’ve really gotta teach me that spell sometime.” he said, “I’ll be on campus when you finish, meet me at the gymnasium. I’ll be with Jisung practicing, tell us everything.”

“Does Jisung even know?” Felix looked at the ground, biting his cheeks to stifle a smile. A beat of silence followed; Felix reached his limit, mouth stretching into a wider grin as the seconds passed, and laughed,

“You’ll have to find out,” he sang. _He told Jisung, he tells Jisung everything_. “Where’s Hyunjin taking you for your date?”

“It’s not a date,” Seungmin denied, “and I don’t know. He said he’d find a nice café or something, some place to buy lunch,”

“Did he say he’d pay?” 

“We didn’t discuss that,” his voice flattened, passing the bowl back to Felix, he didn’t want to know where this was headed.

“If he pays, then it’s a date,”

“How does tha—'' Seungmin shook his head, he wasn’t going to let Felix convince him this is something it’s most definitely not. “I’ll just refuse to let him pay, or pay him back.”

“I’d like to see you try, but alas! I can’t because I won’t be there,” Felix replied, he even had the audacity to place a hand against his forehead and dramatically stumble out of the room. “I’ll be back in fifteen to do your hair, gotta have breakfast myself!”

Time drew closer, Seungmin’s gaze fixed on his phone, watching the miniscule hands of the clock app move faster than he’d desired towards eleven. Ten minutes. Nerves sickened him, now more than ever, and his right leg shook uncontrollably even with his hand clamped onto it. He breathed deeply, at least that much was going right, and tore his attention away from the time to open his messages.

**_jeongin_ **

its today right ???

youre seeing hyunjin today 

**_seungmin_ **

i’m shaking

**_jeongin_ **

youre alive wow

hyunjin hasn’t arrived yet has he

**_seungmin_ **

he has not

what am i supposed to do ?

i can’t talk to him without 

becoming awkward

he wants to ask questions

Big Boy questions

**_jeongin_ **

answer them

youre Smart

**_seungmin_ **

at least try to give me advice 

you’d follow yourself

**_jeongin_ **

touche

wonder if he’ll disguise himself

if he said itd be like a date

**_seungmin_ **

not a date

**_jeongin_ **

thenmaybe not 

skfsdjhs do you realise how 

lucky you are 

**_seungmin_ **

i’ve noticed

you think he’d risk people

finding out he’s moved here

because of me ?

funny

people might not notice ?

**_jeongin_ **

why would they not notice

give me one reason

**_seungmin_ **

touche

w a i t

**_jeongin_ **

???

what ?????

seungmin ?

**_seungmin_ **

remind me to murder changbin

hyung when i next see him

**_jeongin_ **

??

explain

seungmin ?

Kim Seungmin.

**_seungmin_ **

he gave hyunjin my number

i knew i should’ve changed it

**_jeongin_ **

SAJSFHNVDCAWH A T

**_seungmin_ **

yeah that was my reaction too

he’ll be here soon

for an influencer he sure is dry

‘I’ll be over in a few! :)’

who texts like that

the capital letter ew

**_jeongin_ **

hyunjin’s not dry 

hey maybe

Maybe

he feels awkward 

**_seungmin_ **

that’s a big maybe

hey, if you’re gonna get your 

brother to teleport you here

refute our friendship

and murder me

do it now

**_jeongin_ **

good luck !!

* * *

Seungmin’s one hundred percent sure he heard someone knock on the door. One hundred percent sure Felix opened it and allowed that person—who he’s one hundred percent sure is Hyunjin—to come in. He threw his phone aside and his nails dug into his thighs, it didn’t calm him down. He’s terrified, but a lightning bolt of excitement shocked his system, _is it possible for humans to glitch?_

“Seungmin?” Seungmin jolted, his back hit the wall behind him, “Ah, found you! Are you okay? Did I scare you?”

“What do you think?” he mumbled, “I’m fine! How are you?”

“Excellent! Have you seen the weather outside? It looks like it’ll be a sunny day, perfect weather to go outside!” A bubble of confusion rose, when Seungmin checked the forecast yesterday; clouds and the threat of rain showed. He did admit the sky seemed unusually clear when he opened his curtains, but he hadn’t thought to look outside since. “You’re wondering how, right? It’s the end of autumn and yet, there’s sun and clear skies—still cold though, I checked,”

“Yeah, kinda,”

“I wonder as well, are you ready to go?” Hyunjin leaned over, balanced on one leg, until his gaze locked with Seungmin’s. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, he fought the urge. “Minnie?”

_Okay, since when were we on a nickname basis? Jeongin hasn’t even called me that since we were fourteen._

Seungmin bit his lip and inhaled, _this is the game we’re playing, huh?_ “Jinnie?” He gagged, internally; his voice too high and too sweet… this side of him—how annoying. Hyunjin giggled,

“Are you ready?” 

Seungmin swung his legs around to the carpeted floor, standing up and adjusting his clothing. In a breath of confidence he directed his eyes to lock with Hyunjin’s again, “I’ll take that as a yes.” He nodded and gestured for Hyunjin to turn back towards the door.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see. Grab a coat, temperature’s still frigid.” 

Seungmin shoved his feet into worn boots and tied the laces, he glanced towards Hyunjin as he did the same. For the first time since Hyunjin showed up, Seungmin gave him his full attention; the boots he wore were similar to Seungmin’s own, but if Hyunjin’s were like this—clean and polished—then his must be from a knock-off brand. Silver jewellery adorned across his figure, though incomparable to the galaxy-like radiance he possessed. Hyunjin’s visage wasn’t unfamiliar; dressed up enough to seem professional, but still comfortable, casual. However, something about seeing it without a screen between them whilst knowing that, to some extent, impressing Seungmin was his intent…

_Dream-like_. 

A tap on his shoulder returned him to reality, he blurred vision focused and all of it was Hyunjin. His gaze flickered the ground, Hyunjin must have thought he was staring at him. _Because you kinda were dumbass_. “Let’s go?”

“Yeah,” he puffed, “see you later, Felix!”

“Goodbye, Felix!”

“Bye! Have fun on your definitely-not-a-date, date!” Seungmin’s heart pounded; within seconds he’d urged Hyunjin out the door and promptly shut it behind them. 

“Is this actually a date?” Hyunjin inquired, “It doesn’t have to be if that makes you uncomfortable,”

“We… I guess this is what people do these days. It can be whatever you want,” Seungmin forced a grin, the light not reaching his eyes. Hyunjin titled his head and frowned, “I’m serious. Whatever you want.”

**_seungmin_ **

do you enjoy having a place to 

live

**_felix_ **

i’m not sorry

**_seungmin_ **

square up

better see your stuff in boxes

when we get home

**_felix_ **

have fun ! love you !

Leant up against a metal bar in the elevator, Seungmin pocketed his phone and stared at the ground. “Minnie, do you want to actually know why it’s sunny today?”

“I thought you didn’t know,”

“I lied, sorry, it’s sunny because I have a friend at the Lyceum—his name is Bang Chan you might’ve heard of him—Chan hyung crafted a spell that he can use to change the weather,”

“He crafted a spell that changes the weather?”

“Yeah, it’s really tiring for him to use, but he owed me a favour so I asked him if he could make the weather in Apgujeong sunny today. I didn’t want you to have to worry about rain.” Seungmin stared at Hyunjin like a fish, his mouth agape. 

“So _I_ wouldn’t have to worry, what about you?”

“I don’t mind, I wanted you to have a nice day. I can tell you’re nervous, rain would just be another thing to worry about,” Seungmin nodded slowly, heat rose to his cheeks. _Oh no, this is becoming a date._ “By the way, where do you keep your component collection if not in your room? Our apartments have the same layout, so if it’s not in your room… then where?”

“Oh, uh, you know how I study Planar Research? Yeah,” he mumbled with a laugh. Hyunjin took in a sharp breath,

“No way, how?” 

“It started as an experiment we did in class, making our own pocket dimensions to store an item in for easy access no matter where we are,”

“And you kept working at yours over time,”

“Correct.” Seungmin nodded, “No one other than Felix, and now you, know about it. But I’ve managed to bend the dimension enough that it functions as a decent sized room.”

“Seungmin, do you know how impressive that is? If you wrote up a paper or something and sent it to the Lyceum… you’d be critically acclaimed,”

“Oh, it’s not that special… I’m sure I’m not the first to—”

“Hey, hey, no Imposter Syndrome on my watch—we do not love that,” 

“We do not,” he sighed, “I guess.”

“No, but really, you’ve gotta tell me how you did it. Later though,”

“I can do that… yeah.” An electronic bell rang and the elevator opened; they stepped outside, bowing at the receptionist on their way past. They both pulled masks up to their noses, Hyunjin pulled out his phone and held it out of Seungmin’s view. 

Cold air graced them, Seungmin clasped his hands together—a small, deep blue warmth radiated from them, he hovered them over Hyunjin’s who smiled gratefully. “Surprising me, are you?”

“Maybe. If I can figure out how to get there,” 

“You’ll be fine, the streets here aren’t too complicated,” Seungmin reassured him. Cold air frosted around them as they stood in the middle of the walkway for five minutes whilst Hyunjin figured out the directions, 

“I’m baby when it comes to technology. I normally ask Changbin hyung for help, but I shouldn’t do that today,” he explained, “gotta be a big boy.” Seungmin snorted and encouraged him to take his time, while he waited he glanced around at the bustling street. Most people that wandered by walked around them, but a few stopped to stare at an unsuspecting Hyunjin before moving on. One girl looked at Seungmin, eyes full of hope, 

“Not now, sorry,” he mouthed. She frowned, but nodded and went on her way. “Hyunjin, aren’t people going to recognise you like this?” 

“Probably, has it happened yet?”

“Yeah, a few people stopped. Is that okay? Didn’t you say you wanted to be sneakier?”

“Yeah, I’m sure it’ll be fine—I’m trying to see how long I can get away with the ‘I’m staying with Changbin hyung’ excuse,” he said, “I haven’t left the building alone without a disguise yet.” 

“I see, so it’s fine because you’re with me? No one knows who I am, won’t that be suspicious?” 

“Some people will speculate, but, Seungmin, more people know you than you think,” Seungmin opened his mouth to ask Hyunjin what he meant, but the words caught in his throat. “Let’s go! Google Maps says it’s only a seven minute walk so long as I don’t get us lost!”

* * *

Hyunjin led him to a narrow street with buildings laced in vines and flowers. The street was familiar to Seungmin, he frequented it often with his friends; cafés. restaurants, and niche shops dotted the path. They stopped in front of a small café, flower pots hung from the awning and a wooden sign read ‘Levanter’ is curled lettering. His breathing faltered, _of all places_ — _Seo Changbin if this was you_. “Is this okay?”

“I, uh, yes! I come here a lot with Felix and my other friends,” he said, Hyunjin clapped before he placed a hand on the door and pushed it open,

“Ah, I knew you’d like it! After you,” he insisted. Stepping inside, a wave of flavourful aromas washed over them. The dark wood interior provided comfort and the seats were laiden with plush cushions. “What are you going to have?” he looked at Seungmin expectantly, their fingers brushed and Hyunjin hooked a finger around Seungmin’s pinky absentmindedly. 

“Oh, I… um, well. I’ll just have a coffee for now, latte, I didn’t have breakfast all that long ago,” Hyunjin nodded, his gaze fixed to the menu. “Uh, Hyunjin… if it helps this place makes really good peach bingsu,”

“Really? How did you know I’d like that?” Hyunjin breathed, Seungmin’s eyes darted to the ground and he missed the awestruck spark in Hyunjin’s. 

“Well, you see, my friend—Jeongin, not Felix—you could say he’s a fan of yours. Not a mage or anything, just likes listening to you talk about concepts he doesn’t fully understand,” Seungmin said, “I mean, he gets some things. I’ve known him for years so he’s seen how magic works from the ground up, it’s mostly things about the world and its function. He likes that stuff.”

“That’s really nice, I’m glad he enjoys them. He must talk about me a lot then,” Hyunjin giggled, “I’m glad you remembered.”

“Actually that reminds me. In the past week have you gone to a bakery and has one of the employees asked to draw you?” Hyunjin blinked, _oh here we go I’ve embarrassed myself now_.

“Yes, actually, I have. Was that your friend? Jeongin?” Seungmin nodded and breathed a sigh of relief, “I see, does he like art? I didn’t see the finished sketch, but he seems talented.”

“He does, Jeongin wanted to go to an art school, but his parents suggested he do a double major to broaden his horizons.”

“I see, parents can be like that. I suppose they’re just trying to look out for him,” Hyunjin exhaled, “why don’t you go grab us a table before they all run out and I’ll order.”

“Okay,” Seungmin glanced around at their options, which were indeed getting limited. “More people must have brunch here than I thought.” Spotting an empty table in the middle he sat down so he still had view of Hyunjin while he waited in line. It wasn’t until Seungmin noticed Hyunjin take out a credit card that he realised his mistake. 

**_seungmin_ **

seo changbin i know this was

your doing

**_seungmin_ **

felix you can remove your

stuff from boxes

i believe this might be a date

bUT I DONT LIKE HIM OKAY

YOU AND JISUNG DONT GET

TO SAY ANYTHING

**_felix_ **

uhuh

sure

**_seungmin_ **

gonna pay him back you watch

**_felix_ **

yeah you do that

got a lot of faith in you

**_seungmin_ **

boxes

your stuff in boxes

i’ll look forward to it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading !! i hope you enjoyed !! hopefully i'll get the new chapter up soon
> 
> ,,,parts of this were so cheesy to write, why must i be an unromantic individual with a strong will to write fluff


	3. three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if the next chapter is not the last i swear
> 
> okay so this chapter is finally here and it got way longer than i thought it would but we're finally moving somewhere, this really was meant to be two chapters but seungmin is so slow
> 
> he's improved, we're getting there

A bead of sweat ran down Seungmin’s chin, his eyes locked with Felix’s. The gymnasium around them covered in scuff marks, Seungmin’s glasses were long abandoned on the floor—so really, he can’t see Felix at all. Are their eyes locked? _Who knows_. For all he knows he could be staring at Jisung on the sidelines. 

Blurred movement alerted and he darted towards it, though before Felix could reach out and touch him; he vanished. Felix stopped in his tracks and gazed around the room, “Where will you come from?” he muttered, not a second later Seungmin reappeared behind Felix. He grounded a three-point landing, his back to Felix, and stretched an arm backwards. A shot of ice froze Felix to the floor. “Surely this is unfair,” he whined and twisted his body best he could to pout at Seungmin. 

“Won’t be if you’re fighting an opponent,” Seungmin said, “besides I’m helping you. Try again, direct the heat towards your feet instead of your hands.” Felix’s nose scrunched and his eyebrows furrowed, his fists clenched. 

Ice shattered around one foot and he almost lost his balance; he regained it, and repeated the process for his other foot. “There we go,” he breathed a sigh of relief, “I’m getting better at it,”  
  
  


“You are, yes—thanks,” Jisung wandered over with Seungmin’s glasses, dangling them in front of Seungmin’s face. 

“No problem, can we get something to eat now? You know, take a break, wild concept for the two of you I know,” 

“We take breaks,” Felix said, “sometimes.” Jisung rolled his eyes and trudged over to their bags, he slung his over his shoulder and dragged his feet towards the exit. Felix glanced at Seungmin who shrugged, “We’ll grab something to eat after we shower, okay?” Jisung perked up; his eyes lifted from the floor, shimmering in the cheap, yellow light. He smirked, making a dash towards the door,

“Last one there is paying!” he yelled, throwing the door open; the metal slowed to a stop before the handle could smash into the wall. Jisung pivoted, his eyes now shone purple, “And it won’t be me!” 

After a few moments Felix and Seungmin shook their heads, “He didn’t even do anything today… that little—” Seungmin muttered, “Alright, I guess it’s between us then, Jisung cast a spell that altered time for a moment.”

“Wouldn’t that wear him out? All that for free food…” 

“It’s what he’s passionate about, should’ve been a chef instead… Well, can’t be losing this, I wore out my bank account on our rent and Jeongin’s birthday. But, I suppose you did too, guess you really can’t afford to lose twice today,” Felix paled, no matter how hard he tried his feet remained unmoving on the floor. Seungmin skipped over to grab their bags, swinging them over his shoulders, “I’ll take your bag, you take your time.”

Felix stood in the middle of the gymnasium alone, still processing the situation. He shook his head and looked around the empty room, “Oh no,” he whispered, “I’m too broke for this.” 

* * *

The Glow Cafe located at the base of the JYP Student Central which, alongside its stupid large one thousand seat capacity, reeked of old food and soup found the three of them sat at a free table; freshly showered and huddled together. Jisung stole a chair from a nearby table, much to the chagrin of those seated there. However, midday such an act is only fair; even getting a table during lunch hour became a task only few had mastered the art of. 

Felix held his almost bare wallet between his fingertips, pain-stricken, whilst Jisung and Seungmin ate. “Lix, the food will go cold if you keep sulking,” Jisung said, mouth full of rice and meat.

“You’re not the one that paid for it, let me mourn my loss. Cold soup isn’t as bad as this,”

“Cold soup’ll make you more sulky.” As the two retorted, Seungmin scanned his eyes over the textbook placed in the centre of the table, it barely avoided their metal trays and several pages already had soup droplets flung onto it. _Aren’t we lucky this is my personal copy and not the library’s_. Out of the corner of his eye the faint light of his phone emerged from his bag.

**_hyunjin_ **

seungmin !! 

how’s your day been ?

**_seungmin_ **

good so far !

been practicing with felix and jisung

you ?

**_hyunjin_ **

nice i’m great

how’s felix doing ?

**_seungmin_ **

really good !!

he’s almost at tournament level

we’re going up against the girls at 

fnc first

**_hyunjin_ **

are they good ? 

**_seungmin_ **

of course, every team is good 

i spoke to their representative

haeyoon last time she said she’d 

find someone newish who’d be 

a good first match for lix

**_hyunjin_ **

that’s nice of her 

is she park haeyoon ?

i’ve heard her name before

does she take psionics ?

**_seungmin_ **

jisung won’t stop talking about

how smart she is

so yeah probably

**_hyunjin_ **

a h i see

i’m still seeing you later yeah ?

**_seungmin_ **

why wouldn’t you be

i managed to get that article from 

my professor

can’t believe the lyceum database

doesn’t have it

**_hyunjin_ **

!!! 

i love you !!

you’re amazing !!

only person ever !!

**_seungmin_ **

shut up omg

**_hyunjin_ **

it’s true !!

oh,,,, o h

i meant to ask this last time

but do you have time on

uh

saturday ???

for uh,,,

lunch ?? 

“Who are you talking to?” Jisung inquired and leant across the table. Seungmin pulled his phone towards his chest and glared at Jisung, a grimace formed on his lips as he watched a drop of soup leave Jisung’s chopsticks. _My book or not it still was expensive_. “Ah. Hyunjin, I see,” he grinned, “how’s that going anyway?”

“Fine. Same as always, we hang out on Tuesdays and I help him with what he needs,” Seungmin stared at Jisung until he relaxed back into his chair in defeat. Seungmin also relaxed and placed his phone on the table face-down,

“No moves have been made?” _what kind of—oh._

“No! Of course not, why would I try and make a move on Hyunjin of all people?” he hissed, “He’s completely untouchable,”

“Doesn’t seem like it to me,” Felix chimed in, Seungmin’s phone rested in his hands. “I think he just asked you on a date,” _so this is what betrayal tastes like, huh? Soybean soup…_

“He… huh?” Felix held Seungmin’s phone up, “Oh, that, can I not hang out with him like normal friends do?”

“Since when has Hyunjin ever treated you like a normal friend? That man goes to impossible lengths for your sake,” Jisung pointed out. “Him asking Changbin a whole bunch of things about you—because he was too much of a coward to ask you himself—that’s not normal friend behaviour.”

“Also this really sounds like he’s asking you on a date, he seems nervous,”

“It’s a text message how can you tell he’s nervous?” Felix gestured to the message, “Helpful, thank you.”

“Don’t you like him anyway?”

“No?” Jisung and Felix raised their eyebrows, “Not like that. Not the way everyone else does,”

“This ' _everyone else_ ’ you speak of is a bunch of fans, there’s a difference. Do you like him because he’s attractive and smart or because he’s Hyunjin?” Jisung said, Felix pushed Seungmin’s phone back towards him.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing gets through your thick skull, huh? You’re incredibly dense,” they both sighed in unison and dug into their meals. “You’re eating! You’ve been distracted,”

“Soup isn’t cold…”

**_seungmin_ **

saturday is fine !

i’ll see you later !!

**_hyunjin_ **

yay !!!

* * *

_Do you like him because he’s attractive and smart or because he’s Hyunjin?_ _What kind of dumb question is that?_ Seungmin stared at the ceiling bleary-eyed, head nestled into plush pillows and a soft blanket beneath him. His attempt to nap forgotten as his mind kept him awake with buzzing thoughts. On the dark wooden floor below lay a messy set-up of vials with multi-coloured liquids bubbling inside. _Hyunjin said he’d clean that up, must’ve forgotten_. Seungmin carefully slid off the bed and to the floor, he pulled a suitcase closer and began to pack away everything. Dishes, stands, matches, and candles in a small left compartment, vials next to them, and the materials on the right. 

“Seungmin, you don’t mind answering the door when the food arrives?” Hyunjin clung onto the door frame and leant into the room. Unable to see Seungmin on the bed he took a glance at the floor; with a poor attempt at keeping himself from stumbling into the room, Hyunjin’s shoulder made contact with the wood and a bolt of pain shot through his body. “Why’re you cleaning that up for me? I was going to do it later… you shouldn’t have,” he wheezed as he peeled himself off the ground.

“Don’t worry about it, everything’s out of the way now,” Seungmin reached out and placed a hand on Hyunjin’s shoulder. A small, intricate magic circle appeared and curled around his shoulder, branding itself onto the skin beneath his clothing, “It’ll be gone in an hour, it’s a bruise. Oh, and of course I’ll answer the door.” Hyunjin brought a hand up to his shoulder and pushed the fabric of his shirt aside, his fingers traced the outline of the circle and its details. _Pretty magic circle for a pretty Seungmin_.

“Seungmin, honestly, how much magic do you know?” 

“Enough. Far less than you. I’m not the one with three specialities here, I only have one,”

“I know, but you show me something new every time I see you. You’re not a Lyceum student, you don’t have to learn so much and yet… you have.”

“It’s because I’m not a Lyceum student, I’m doing as much as the Academy will allow me to do in four years.” he explained, “There’s plenty I haven’t done, and some spells I’ve learnt from others. Jisung taught me every elemental spell I know, for example, but I don’t know the basis of elemental magic.” 

“Astounding.” Hyunjin breathed, “Elemental magic draws from the earth, by the way, that’s why earth, air and water spells work better. Fire spells draw from volcanoes, the earth’s core, and dumb things like ovens. Lightning spells are similar; rain clouds and electrical plugs.” 

“So it is simple,” _the modern era sure has made its advancements_ , “I wonder what it must’ve been like for the first mage to draw power from a lightbulb.” 

“Why do you think it’s so popular?” Hyunjin said with a laugh punctuating each word. _Right, makes sense._ “Oh, and about Saturday,” he hesitated for a moment, “you’re definitely okay with it? I wanted to take a break from all this and spend time relaxing with you, instead of working everytime we see each other. However, if you feel more comfortable only working with me…”

“Yeah, of course it’s fine,” Seungmin nodded, “I’d hope that after five months this wasn’t purely business.”

“Oh, uh, that’s nice. I’m glad you think of this like that, um… also, uh,” Hyunjin shuffled back until his back pressed against a wall, Seungmin blinked.

“Is something wrong?” They locked eyes and Hyunjin shook his head, _why does he seem on edge?_

“No, no, there’s something I wanted to ask you in person… about Saturday, seemed dumb to ask you over text.”

“Go ahead,”

“I’d like to ask if it’s okay for Saturday to be classified as an official date. It’s okay if you don’t want it to be, if you think this is too much.” Seungmin’s mouth fell open and a quiet gasp tumbled out. 

“Give me a moment—this isn’t a rejection—just give me a moment,” Seungmin stumbled out into the living room and dived towards his bag. 

**_seungmin_ **

JEONGJNSKSNDN HELP

**_jeongin_ **

??????

what’d he do ?

do i have to come beat him up ?

**_seungmin_ **

okay slow down there, no

but

JEONGIN

HYUNJIN JUST DID A THING

AND NOW IM BEING

RUDE AND ASKING YOU 

FOR HELP

**_jeongin_ **

elaborate

**_seungmin_ **

maybe

earlier today he asked to hang 

out on saturday

i’ve now been informed that he’d 

like it to be a date

like a Date date

**_jeongin_ **

SEUNGMINWHATTJ

AND YOJRE ASKINGME

SAY YES 

he probably thinks you’re gonna 

say no if leaving him hanging rn

**_seungmin_ **

i specifically told him i wasn’t 

rejecting him before i ran away

gotta find better ways to deal with 

my problems

**_jeongin_ **

yeah

like Not Leaving Him Hanging 

**_seungmin_ **

yes yes i’m going

o h 

the doorbell rang

**_jeongin_ **

ignore it !!

go get your man !!!

**_seungmin_ **

it’s the delivery person

they have our food

**_jeongin_ **

okay get the food then go get 

your man !!!

Seungmin placed his phone on a nearby table and ran towards the door, “Hello? Thank you… you too!” 

“Was that our food?” Hyunjin asked, his face barely peeked out from behind the door. Seungmin froze, plastic bags loosely held by his fingertips, “Put them on the table, I’ll get bowls.” All he could do was watch as Hyunjin walked across the room, typical grace still in every step. He didn't seem bothered by Seungmin’s lack of an answer, in fact Hyunjin glowed. 

“Hyunjin,” Seungmin choked out, “were you being serious?” His voice strained further with every word; the more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a joke. _This can’t be happening, it’s not real_.

“Of course, I know I’ve joked in the past, but I’m definitely serious this time,” he chuckled, even the best of songbirds would be jealous. “Honestly, I’ve liked you for a while. Now I’m actually brave enough to admit it,” Hyunjin placed the bowls on the table, he walked over to Seungmin and unhooked the bags from his fingers. “Surely one of these comes with chopsticks,” he muttered. He sat on the floor and began unpacking, he stopped partway and looked up at Seungmin. A soft smile played at the corners of his mouth, his eyes wide, expectant, and glimmering. 

Seungmin’s heart burst. This _is_ real, very real; time might as well have slowed down almost to a stand-still around them. The sounds of the street bustle below and the occasional car ceased, _or maybe I’m going insane_. 

_Do you like him because he’s attractive and smart or because he’s Hyunjin?_

Jisung’s words echoed in his mind, reverberated until his ears rang. Confusion crowded Seungmin’s mind, realisation struck that he never really thought of exactly what his feelings towards Hyunjin were. _This is what Jisung meant when he said I have a thick skull_. He placed a hand against the wall for support and gulped, nothing indicated the possibility of this being a scarily realistic dream. Perhaps that’s when it clicked that he should stop staring at Hyunjin and provide him with a response; joy bounced around his heart at the thought of a real date with Hyunjin. “I… Hyunjin?”

“Yes, Seungmin?”

“About Saturday, a date would be… lovely.” He tried to contain himself as he watched Hyunjin turn from radiant, to absolutely luminescent. A spark jolted through Seungmin’s body, his brain short-circuited, his sanity slipped and so did his balance; knees crashed into the floor and another, more unpleasant jolt coursed through his body. He crawled towards the table across from Hyunjin, elation pounded at his eardrums.

“Are you alright, Seungmin? I can’t tell if you fell or that was purposeful,”

“I fell. Don’t worry about it. Let’s eat, the food will go cold otherwise.” Hyunjin frowned and shuffled around the table to sit next to him, he placed a hand on one of Seungmin’s knees and the lingering pain vanished, 

“That feel better?” he asked, then moved his hand to the other.

“Yeah,” Seungmin breathed, “better.” 

“Let’s eat for now,” Hyunjin pat his leg, “you don’t mind helping me plan out the first video’s outline after?”

“I’ve never minded.”

* * *

Felix carded his fingers through Seungmin’s hair, he picked up small tufts and gently set them into position. Seungmin’s eyes glued onto the television, not consuming any media displayed on it; his eyes glazed over and his mind elsewhere. Jisung rocked from side to side next to him, eyes also glued to the television and an occasional laugh emanated from him. Jeongin stood in the kitchen leant over, eye-level with a glass mug. He squinted at the red-orange liquid that swirled inside, pinched between his fingers was a single chopstick that he stirred the liquid with slowly. “Jeongin, what’re you doing?” Felix called, 

“Making tea,”

“Why are making it like that?” Jeongin didn’t answer, “Jeongin?”

“Yes?”

“Why are you making the tea… like that? You’re scrutinising it, it’s just tea,” 

“Want it to be perfect, he’s got a big day ahead, gotta make sure he gets through it—preferably not hyped up on coffee. Something a little weaker will do.” Felix blinked at him, and nodded slowly as his eyebrows furrowed. 

“O-Okay,” he said, “you know better than I do.”

“Hey, you guys,” Seungmin spoke softly, “will I survive this?”  
  
  


“I’d hope so, or I’ll have to go turn Hyunjin into dust,” Jeongin said, he adjusted his posture and puffed his chest out before falling into a fighting stance.

“Don’t think that’ll work,” Jisung replied, “but I can literally try and turn him into dust.”

“Please don’t,” Seungmin whispered, “you know I actually thought about what you said.”

“Oh? You did?”

“He spent the past three days locked in his room, only accepting offerings of takeout food and coffee—”

“I wouldn’t trust your cooking either, Lix,”

“Thanks, love you too Jeongin. He thought long about your wise words and reached a satiating conclusion, which was celebrated with the ritualistic notion of releasing one’s greatest frustrations through the fine art of yelling.”

“I was going to say I’ve concluded that I do like him, but sure you could put it like that,” Jisung gripped onto Seungmin’s shoulder and tore him away from Felix. Without missing a beat, Jisung tugged him into a bone-crushing hug that he gingerly returned. 

“Our friend is in love!”

“Okay, okay, slow down. Love is a strong word,” Seungmin said with a laugh, a smile tugging on the edges of his mouth. Jisung’s arms became noodle-like, falling to rest on his thighs. “Admiration, a liking, enamour, choose weaker words.” 

“Your tea,” Jeongin said, placing the cup gently in Seungmin’s hands, “trust that the brew is fine.” Seungmin rolled his eyes and took a sip, “I also, out of the goodness of my own heart, made breakfast. It’s nothing even close to mum’s pastries, but I learnt how to make mochi the other week.” He rushed back to the kitchen and returned with a plate held out the others view.

“That’s not a very healthy breakfast,” Jisung said as he stretched his body upwards like a meerkat, Felix forced him down. 

“I couldn’t think of anything healthier than my passion and love,” Jeongin said. On the table, a plate with an array of multi-coloured mochi was placed. Each delicate ball of delight pillowy to the touch, “Some are red bean, some are strawberry, I don’t remember which so have fun guessing.”

“What are your worries, Seungmin? Confide in m—us,” Jisung asked and popped a smaller mochi in his mouth whole. Before Seungmin could answer, a soft yellow glow of pearlescent light waved in front of Jisung’s face, “Woah, that’s hot.”

“Don’t shove things in your mouth whole then,” Felix grumbled. Jisung stuck out his tongue and reached for a bigger mochi, his eyes fixed onto Felix’s like they were the centre of a target as he brought it closer to his mouth. However, before he could take a bite, his hand froze and the mochi was plucked out of his grasp. 

Jisung remained frozen whilst his friends convulsed with laughter, they flopped around the floor rather ungracefully. “Serves you right,” Felix snickered.

“Seungmin,” Jisung whined, “why’d you stop me.”

“I don’t want spite to be the reason why you get indigestion,” he quipped, “to answer your question, I have plenty of worries. Some fair and reasonable, I don’t want to embarrass myself. The dumbest is probably the fact that I keep worrying that he won’t like me after this.”

“What?” His three friends yelled in unison; Jeongin grabbed onto him and shook him back and forth while Felix watched on in horror, mourning the loss of the time he spent carefully arranging Seungmin’s hair. “Dude, if he’s put up with you for this long then he won’t hate you after one date. This isn’t different from normal, there’s just feelings involved now,”

“Who says feelings weren’t already involved?” Jisung pointed out,

“I didn’t,”

“Only because you’re dumb,”

“Hey!” Jisung backed away, hands held up in defense. Felix encouraged Seungmin to sit back in front of him. He grabbed a mochi with a sigh, gently pushed Jisung’s head to the side to obscure his vision whilst he ate it whole. “Gotta start again?”

“Mhm,” he hummed, sound heavily muffled as he strained his voice to even get any sound at all.

“Shame. You spent so long only for them to ruin it for you, wish there was something I could do about it.”

“It’s okay, I don’t mind,” Felix smiled, “anything that helps put you at ease. Relax, and maybe answer Hyunjin’s messages,”

“What?”

“Shh, I said relax.”

**_hyunjin_ **

it’s today !!!  
i’m so scared !

**_seungmin_ **

you don’t have to be !

**_hyunjin_ **

i know i don’t /have/ to be

still am

can i stop be a few minutes

early ?

**_seungmin_ **

yeah

i’ll probably need a minute after

you arrive anyway

probably why you asked

**_hyunjin_ **

i mean

n o t e x a c t l y

**_seungmin_ **

you know me so well

love that

**_hyunjin_ **

ajdhfhd

changbin hyung told me you’ve

never dated anyone before

am i taking you on your 

first date

**_seungmin_ **

i will hurt him

**_hyunjin_ **

omg dont 

**_seungmin_ **

but yeah he’s right

never been on a date before

**_hyunjin_ **

omg

!!!!

that’s so exciting !

might cry for you

if this isn’t the best date ever

i might leave and never come

back

**_seungmin_ **

don’t do that !!

you won’t be able to take me

on another date then !

**_hyunjin_ **

omg he’s already agreeing to

a second date

**_seungmin_ **

i’ve been thinking so,,,

yeah

**_hyunjin_ **

he has been thinking

interesting 

and thinking made you want

a second date

**_seungmin_ **

thinking has made me want

a second date

are you proud

they were Big Boy thoughts

**_hyunjin_ **

i couldn’t be prouder of you

i am: over the moon

can’t wait to see you

**_seungmin_ **

i have been advised to say

then don’t

i’ve also been advised to say 

please do wait

my conclusion is: then don’t

i want to see you too

i also want you to meet jeongin

he disagrees

**_hyunjin_ **

O H JDSAFGH

i could do that !!

i wanna to meet him

he sounds extra baby

**_seungmin_ **

he is extra baby

jisung is also here

i take no responsibility for 

anything he says

**_hyunjin_ **

wanna see him too

and see felix !

**_seungmin_ **

yes !!

jeongin said come quickly if you don’t

value his health but also want mochi

red bean and strawberry just so you know

**_hyunjin_ **

MOCHI

running out the door as we speak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading, i hope you enjoyed it !! the hopefully last chapter might take me a week or two bc university has just started, but i should be able to get it done before i get too busy


	4. four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> f i n a l l y !!
> 
> it's done ! the final chapter is here !!

Friends left behind with tight-squeezed hugs that left Seungmin both stunned and out of breath; he and Hyunjin stood in the chilling, mid-autumn air. Scarves wrapped around their necks and sweaters pulled down over their hands as their fingertips frosted. “Suppose you won’t tell me where we’re going,”

“What’s the fun in that?” Hyunjin giggled, “Remember the first time I took you to _Levanter_ , we got lost twice because I refused to tell you where we were going.”

“Yes, and you’ve improved so much since then,” Seungmin rolled his eyes. Every time Hyunjin had been in charge of organising where they were going, they got lost at least twice. Sometimes Hyunjin caved and told Seungmin where they were meant to be going, and most of the time they’d be halfway across the city from their destination. 

Very few would expect a prodigious Lyceum student to be so directionally challenged, but that was the truth. Hyunjin’s grace rivalled that of a land-bound sea creature with only a vague notion of where the water’s comfort lied. 

“I’m trying my best. Not gonna ask you for help today, I actually know where we’re going,” Hyunjin smiled proudly, Seungmin raised a curious eyebrow. 

“Lead the way, then,” Hyunjin turned on his heels, but his feet cemented to the ground and he stood like a strangely realistic statue. _I’m not even sure if he’s breathing_. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, perfectly okay. Seungmin do you mind if, um,” he tapped a finger to Seungmin’s hand. Unfortunately, Seungmin stared back at him blankly, failing to understand what he meant. “Your hand,” he whispered, “can I hold it?”

“O-oh.” A small puff of air followed Seungmin’s realisation. A blush crept up his neck to his already red-tipped ears, dual effort from the cold and Hyunjin, “Yes.”

Fingers loosely interlaced, Hyunjin led them around puddles with occasional flash of purple light to prevent cars from splashing water onto the path. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?” he asked, “I know a lot of people online already seem to think we’re dating, this will confirm it for them.”

“I’m okay with it,” Seungmin gave Hyunjin’s hand a short squeeze, “really.”

“Mm,” Hyunjin tightened his grip on Seungmin’s hand and swung it, “you make me really happy.” The air froze in Seungmin’s throat,

“That’s nice,” he wheezed, Hyunjin’s scintillating laughter rang through his ears. “Shut up.” Hyunjin pulled back to dodge a weak punch from Seungmin, 

“Haven’t done that to you in a while,” he giggled, “missed it.”  
  


“I didn’t,” Seungmin muttered. He let go of Hyunjin’s hand to adamantly stand in the middle of the path in protest while Hyunjin continued on for a few paces. 

Hyunjin’s laughter increased ten-fold as he doubled over, his giggles now punctuated with the occasional snort. 

“You’re so cute," he gasped. He jogged back to Seungmin and threw an arm around his shoulders, “Come on, stop pouting, let’s go.”

“Don’t do that again,” Seungmin removed Hyunjin’s arm from his shoulder, diverted his gaze to Hyunjin’s hand; their fingers now carefully intertwined once more.

“Can’t make any promises.”

The landscape soon became the familiar narrow streets from their first ‘date’, however, this time they walked right past the flower-studded _Levanter_. 

They ended up at a metallic fever dream of a building, _Sunshine_ ; fairy lights strung around rusted iron vines that spun into a arch served as the gateway inside the wonderland. The aroma of freshly-ground coffee and soft classical music floated through the air. Trinkets, vases, and glass jars danced around the edges encased by sparkling silver rings of magical essence. Baristas bustled, forming intricate, brassy magic circles and a large glass window revealed chefs using similar copper insignias. 

Displays were lined with delicate cakes and bread and the light titter of words exchanged. Many faces were recognisable as peers and upperclassmen of Seungmin’s, he wondered how he’d only now found himself staring down the establishment with awestruck-wonder. 

A safety blanket of the four-walled, wood and glass kind. If a caffeine addiction was in order, this would be the place to start.

Hyunjin and Seungmin settled into chairs at one of the far corners, a tall window by their sides filtered what little pieces of sunlight there was. Too stunned to even notice Hyunjin left to order for them, Seungmin reached towards a low, floating polyhedral vase filled with crystalline stones. His fingers played carefully over sparkling magic, “I’d hate to be the one tasked with holding these up all day,” he whispered. “So tiring,” he fell back against the plush cushions, his figure collapsing beneath them. 

Hyunjin returned not moments later, brass tray balanced in his hands. Glasses; one of foam-topped coffee and the other a rosy tea stood tall, a dainty plate with a parchment wrapped piece of chocolate cake inside. He set the tray down, placing the coffee in front of Seungmin and the tea opposite for himself. The cake sat in the middle, still on the tray that visibly shrunk in size to accommodate the lighter weight that now sat atop it. 

“This is strange,” Hyunjin whispered, after several minutes filled mostly with silence. Other than the occasional comment about how the decadent cake seemed to melt in their mouths, their eyes wandered around the café looking at anything but each other. “Seungmin,” he whispered again, “is this real?” 

Seungmin’s mouth glued shut because, honestly? It didn’t seem real at all. He blinked and focused on his surroundings; the coffee in his hand almost unbearably warm, the low hum on countless spells working at once, the way his legs shook, and Hyunjin’s hand underneath his cooling, yet also on fire. 

“It’s real,” he concluded. _This is happening, I can accept that now_. There’s something in the way Hyunjin’s shoulders relaxed that made Seungmin realise they’re as nervous as each other. 

“Love that for us,” Hyunjin sighed. A beat of silence followed as they both stared at each other, Seungmin averted his gaze to look at the other patrons. _We’re probably super annoying_. 

No one else was here for the purpose they were. To take a guess, this place housed those on their last legs of sanity, those who looked to complete their procrastinated papers stuck in a fever dream with an endless stream of coffee on-demand. He felt out of place within the smooth piano and violin melody punctured by keyboard clacking, pen scratching, and page turning. 

Hyunjin fractured his endless thought train with a much-needed subject change to calm his spiralling nerves. “Remember that time you helped me answer a question someone asked on a livestream?”

“Yeah…”

“And then I followed you and kept asking you dumb questions about crystals and spell components.” Seungmin snorted, he remembered that day clearly; Jeongin excitedly yelling down the phone about how lucky Seungmin was for Hyunjin to recognise his intelligence. _Unforgettable, both Jeongin’s pure excitement and the incident itself_. His heart had filled with warmth like he’d won the lottery; Lyceum students only recognised and went to people at the top of their field for help. It took a week for Seungmin to skip down off the imaginary pedestal he built for himself after that. 

“What does that have to do with you liking me, though?” The words felt strange as they rolled off his tongue, _Hyunjin liking me… still weird_. 

“I’ve always been impressed by your intelligence, and you offered to help me so easily—you have no idea how many people get snarky when a Lyceum student doesn’t know something. You were nice, I mean lots of people are nice, but it didn’t help when I saw how cute you are,”

“I—” Seungmin’s gaze darted to the floor, vivid warmth spread across his cheeks to the tips of his ears. 

“I tell you all the time and you still get embarrassed, cute,”

“Shut up. Keep going, knowing you that’s not it,” 

“True. I actually didn’t think much of it until I planned on moving. You were just a cute boy that showed up on my timeline from time to time—ouch,” Hyunjin collapsed back into his chair, hands clasped around one of his legs. Seungmin threw him a deadpan expression that quickly melted into a fit of giggles.

“Continue.”

“Anyway, I thought about Apgujeong because Changbin lives here, and I figured I should ask him if he knew any mages. Didn’t expect much from him, but he did know you,” he explained. “I thought I’d have to go trekking from Academy to Academy to find you, but you two are closer than I thought my luck could handle.” 

“I wouldn’t say close…”

“Close enough for him to know where you live.” Seungmin hummed in disagreement, “Don’t tell me you two were just in the science club together, I know better than that.” 

“Fine, I could hate him more.”

“Good start. Anyway, I wouldn’t say I fell for you until we actually met. Sure, I one-hundred percent had a crush on you, but only a little one.” Seungmin’s heart lurched, _a crush on me?_ His shock must’ve been less hidden than he anticipated as Hyunjin smirked, “No, I’m not kidding.”

Seungmin continued to sit there; his hand that drifted towards Hyunjin’s froze midair, his eyes rounded to match the lenses of his glasses. He thanked his subconscious for putting his coffee down or else it’d be in an aromatic, shattered mess on the floor. He didn’t have the willpower to stop the borderline manic, absolutely love-struck grin from pulling at the corners of his mouth. 

“Changbin said I was being really obvious, perhaps not?”

“I’m dense, ‘thick-skulled’ in Jisung terms. Jeongin thinks you were pretty obvious, too.”

Jeongin rushed at him from the front gates of the JYP Academy campus about a month ago, near bowling both of them into a spiny collection of bushes and flowers. All that for the pure sake of informing Hyunjin couldn’t be more obvious about having a crush on him after showing him a messy forty second compilation someone online made of him being mentioned in one of Hyunjin’s live shows. 

The memory stuck in his mind like one of the thorns from the bushes placed dangerously behind him. It wasn’t like it bothered him, _no, of course not_ , but the thought lingered. 

“Well, I wasn’t trying to be. Can’t help it. Just about everything I say, my mind knows how to link it to you,” Hyunjin said. Seungmin understood. It made sense, a lot made sense, actually. As much as he’d told Hyunjin he’d been thinking ‘Big Boy’ things—and rest assured, he was—none of them made sense. 

Sure, he liked Hyunjin. That was simple, but he failed to reach a conclusive why. It definitely was in part to the constant threat he posed to the sun with his unending radiance, his clumsy grace, his intent gaze fixed on Seungmin and the vials of potions as he explained the why, the how, the what. 

However, the effect it had on his mind was something that he completely skipped. The occurrence that Hyunjin’s mind must be a broken record loop of ‘Seungmin, Seungmin, Seungmin’, made it make sense.

_Hyunjin, Hyunjin, Hyunjin_.

His mind does that. No wonder Jisung thinks he’s dense, he _is_ dense. His hands withdrew from Hyunjin’s and he hid them under the table as they became shaky. “What are you thinking?” His mouth opened and shut, unable to force out words—even the ones that wouldn’t make coherent sense. Was he even thinking? _No, I’m thinking, definitely thinking_. 

“Thinking,” he croaked, “yeah.”

“This is a lot for you, yeah?”

“Kinda,” he took a sip of the bitter concoction in front of him, “never felt this before.” Hyunjin smiled and leaned across the table to pat his head. He leant into the touch, a small smile played at his mouth.

“Felt what? Try and put a word to it,” Hyunjin said, softly. 

“Enamoured.” Hyunjin’s hand absent-mindedly trailed down to Seungmin’s cheek and a soft pink hue crept onto their faces.

“See, this is why you make me happy.” And perhaps, Seungmin was a little bit in love.

Silence wrapped around them like a blanket. After a couple hours, and another slice of cake, they finished their drinks and left the cosy wonder that is _Sunshine_. 

They walked through streets, gazed longingly at shop displays, and they did their best to keep each other enraptured with stories they never got a chance to tell amidst their work. Seungmin in particular got to tell Hyunjin about the escapades he got up to in high school with Changbin and Jeongin. “So, you are friends,” Hyunjin exclaimed through a mouthful of ramen, chopsticks pointed towards Seungmin accusingly. 

“Absolutely not.” 

“Sure, like I’m gonna believe that,” Hyunjin scoffed, “you sat together during lunch. Friends do that, Minnie. Why are both of you so stubborn?” Seungmin pouted, _like hell you’re going to get either of us to admit we’re friends_. 

They decided to call it a day when grey clouds began to filter out the sun as the afternoon approached. Hyunjin accompanied Seungmin back to his apartment, hands laced together the whole journey. 

“When can we do this again?” Seungmin asked, looking up at Hyunjin with wide-eyed wonder. 

“Whenever we’re both free next, let’s say… Wednesday? Oh, but exams are soon… oh! It could be a study date! Wait, do you have exams soon, too?”

“I think everyone does,” Seungmin giggled, “I wouldn’t mind a study date. Not sure how much studying you’ll end up doing,”

“Not a lot,” Hyunjin admitted, he leaned closer to Seungmin and lowered his voice. “Is this the part where I’m meant to say I’m a Lyceum student so I’ll be okay?” Seungmin nodded, Hyunjin puffed out his chest and plastered a grin on his face, “I’m a Lyceum student, I’ll be fine.”

“Don’t believe you,” 

“Damn. I thought that was pretty good.” 

“Work on it, convince me next time. I should go inside now, I told Lix I’d be back soon like twenty minutes ago,”

“Yeah, don’t want him sending out a search party,” Hyunjin squeezed Seungmin’s hands, “I’ll see you soon then.”

“Yes, thank you. See you Wednesday, or maybe earlier.” Seungmin stepped closer and, standing on his tiptoes, pressed a faint kiss to his cheek. He left Hyunjin to stand stunned in the hallway before he slid down against the wall, faint laughter on his lips.

  
 _Yeah, maybe he's in love_. _And what about it?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you once again for reading this !!
> 
> there's a lot i think could be improved, but i guess that's what the point of writing this was, to help me improve or at least see ways that i could improve 
> 
> thank you for sticking with this until the end if you have !! i hope you enjoyed it !

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading !!
> 
> if you wanna talk or anything i just decided to try and be active on twitter again;  
> \- berrystay !


End file.
